When Hell Runs Cold

Chapter Twenty

Alysia held back a groan as she saw another wave of customers walk into the restaurant. "It's never this busy." She said to Eric, who was brewing a drink, a line of cups with unfilled orders growing next to him. "Why is it so busy?"

"New drink." Eric said, before pressing the plastic cup to her lips without warning. "Try it."

Alysia frowned, pulling her face away from the cup. "Aren't you supposed to be making that for customers? Not for other staff?"

"The customer's a bitch. She'll survive. Now try the drink." He put the cup in her hand, crossing his arms and giving her an expectant look. She took a cautious sip of the concoction, smiling slightly when she tasted the caramel. She set the cup on the table, giving Eric an encouraging nod.

"It's good." She said, and Eric beamed.

Glancing across the restaurant, she sighed when she saw April and Nathan talking. April was as enthusiastic as always, and Nathan still had the charming grin he had had from the first time they met.

He was really buttering her up.

So he must've really believed that April could have something to do with the murders. Alysia should just tell him the chance that April could be involved was impossible. April wanted to save lives, not take them. It was why she had applied for a nursing program in the first place.

Alysia grabbed the latte that Nathan had ordered, leaving Eric to make the other drinks. She went over to the table where Nathan and April were, setting the cup down. Her fingers twinged slightly, the heat radiating from the thin, paper walls.. "It's hot. Don't burn yourself." She muttered.

April beamed at her, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Nathan was just telling me about how you two kept bumping into each other! Hospital, bank... What were you at the bank for? You don't usually go."

Alysia rolled her eyes. She knew that April had figured out that she was Monarch, and because of that, April had probably connected the dots, coming to the conclusion that Nathan was Whirlwind.

Alysia sighed, looking around to see if any prying ears had tilted their way. "Nathan, she knows. She's just playing dumb, doesn't mean that she has anything to do with Frostbite."

April smiled innocently, fiddling with her fingers slightly. "Know what?"

Alysia rolled her eyes, ignoring Nathan's icy glare. "Don't play dumb, Apes. You know. You've known since Lux first made her appearance."

"Lyss, I taught you the basics of hacking. So yeah, I knew when Lux made her appearance, because they hacked the way I showed you. And pretty boy, you don't have to try to suck up to me."

"Oh god." Alysia heard a customer say, "The news." Alysia turned away from Nathan and April, looking at the small flat screen in the corner. Her eyes widened when she saw the masked figure, and the frost forming beneath his feet.

A blood curdling scream was heard through the crackling speakers, and Alysia flinched at the sound. She heard the man who was filming shout something incoherent. If it was even possible, Alysia's eyes widened further, as a woman appeared in front of the camera.

A woman had appeared out of thin air, a mask similar to Alysia's covering her face. "I'll take that." The woman was slender, and Alysia could see the tips of black hair peeking out of her suit.

Nathan was already out of his seat, standing up, grabbing Alysia's coat, and putting a ten dollar bill on the table. "We need to go."

Alysia nodded quickly, muttering a quick 'See ya, later' to April and rushing out of the Busy Bean alongside Nathan.

"Seems like Frostbite has a new sidekick." Nathan rushed to the car, getting into the driver's seat quickly, and Alysia followed suit, clambering into the passenger seat, not bothering to strap her seat belt. "This won't be as easy as we thought it would be."

"We thought it was going to be easy?!"

***

"I will never get used to that." Alysia muttered as Nathan put her down. Nathan had driven them to the base, the both of them suiting up. From there, Nathan had flown them to the center of the city.

The wave of nausea that had come with the flight, quickly faded as she got used to her surroundings. "Come on, Monarch, let's go!" Nathan yelled, rushing towards a group of civilians.

Alysia didn't know if she would ever get used to being a hero.

Her eyes flitted around the scene, her eyes narrowing on the culprit himself. Frostbite. He was icing the roads, silvery rays of cold shooting from his palms. Oncoming traffic uselessly swerved and crashing into buildings. The pavement was littered with red plastic and car alarms screamed in Alysia ears.

A gust of wind knocked him down, and Alysia let out a sigh of relief before sending a stream of fire towards the iced roads, the ice melting almost instantly. A sense of dread hit her as Frostbite turned towards her.

She locked eyes with the masked villain.

A sense of recognition hit her, and she stepped back a bit. Where had she seen those eyes before?

They were blue, not like Nathan's or April's, but an almost grey blue. A wave of unease settled in the pit of her stomach. She ducked as he sent an icicle towards her, before melting it quickly.

She threw a fireball at him, which he, in turn, dodged. She let out a groan of pain when she felt a blow hit her stomach, and when she looked up, the woman from the news was in front of her. "Didn't your father ever tell you not to play with fire?" She heard Frostbite say, his voice distorted from a voice modulator.

The woman disappeared from in front of her once more, before she felt herself being kicked to the ground. The sharp pain in her side, elicited a gasp out of her, but she quickly recovered, sweeping the woman's feet out from under her. "Who are you?!"

The woman disappeared once more, and Alysia watched as she appeared in front of Nathan. Was she able to teleport?

Alysia jumped up to her feet quickly, sending a fireball in Frostbite's direction. "What do you want from me?! I have done nothing to you!"

Frostbite approached her, throwing a punch in her way, which she dodged. "I want him to feel the same pain I felt." He growled.

Alysia hissed as ice encased her hands. Frostbite wrapped a hand around her throat, shoving her into the wall. "This has never been about you, little girl. Some things are just not for children. But if hurting you, will hurt him, so be it."

Chills rushed up her spine, and she could feel ice creeping up her legs. The tingling up her legs only increased, as she struggled to melt the ice around her hand. But every time she melted it, more ice would form.

A blur appeared in front of her, and suddenly Frostbite was on the ground. The familiar blue and black suit, with the letter 'B' on it, stood out.

"I thought about your offer. And you were right." Blitz admitted, "I'd rather stand by your side." He said, throwing a kick at Frostbite. "I hope it's not too late."

Alysia let out a sigh of relief, finally feeling the ice around her hands and legs start to melt. "You're right on time."

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a had a wonderful day so far! What did you think about this chapter? What are your thoughts on Blitz? Feel free to comment, vote, and share if you enjoyed!

QOTD: What's your favorite song lyric?

Mine would probably be a lyric from Paper Rings by Taylor Swift. Probably "I want  to drive away with you,  I want your complications too." Paper Rings in general is one of my favorte songs because it's so freakin' cute. Have a great rest of your day!